November 11, 2020

Kylie Rothfield on Songwriting, The Voice, and Holding on to Your Passion

Kylie Rothfield is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After honing her craft in Nashville where she wrote songs and sold out premier venues singing original, soulful, blues-infused pop, she moved to Los Angeles, where she has been featured on NBC’s The Voice (picked by Alicia Keys to coach throughout the season), and Songland (collaborating with Ben Platt on her original song Ghost). Her recent singles include Newport and Too Late.

kylie rothfield kylie rothfield the voice

What you will learn:

What guitars Kylie prefers to play and why, and what these guitars mean to her as a performer; how she became sponsored by Epiphone Guitars. [0:00-6:42]
How Kylie began songwriting at the age of 12, and how her childhood love of music and dreams still influences her today; Why she believes it’s imperative to write from a place of honesty, and why recognizing and showing vulnerability can be a powerful way to connect with an audience. [6:42-15:12]
How Kylie taught herself guitar at age 11 and how she motivates her guitar students to continue learning; how attending Berkeley College of Music motivated and encouraged her to learn more about music she may have otherwise ignored. [15:12-22:04]
The importance of community and having a support group in the music industry; how co-writing royalties are calculated in Nashville vs. Los Angeles. [22:04-29:30]
How Kylie grapples with stage fright and what coping mechanisms she uses to push past that fear; lessons she took away from her experiences on The Voice and Songland; what it was like working with Alicia Keys and Ben Platt, respectively, on those shows. [29:30-36:43]
What Kylie does to balance the need to stay creative as a songwriter and performer while maintaining her mental health in a pandemic; what new technical and creative skills she’s working on to become a producer, and how she was encouraged by Alicia Keys regarding her skills as a producer. [36:43-42:55]
How Kylie feels working around her music idols, and why she is not normally starstruck, with a few notable exceptions; ways fans can support musicians and venues struggling to survive under COVID restrictions; advice Kylie has for aspiring musicians. [42:55-53:42]